Staying connected in today’s business and personal communications environments is becoming increasingly challenging. Communications ecosystems have changed more since 2000–2008 than over the previous three decades. The broad-based demand for mobility, the anywhere availability of high bandwidth Internet access, and the explosion in multimode communications networks have changed the world. On a global scale society has accepted the virtual company concept and the mindset that instantaneous anywhere and anytime communication is a necessity required to conduct and grow revenue and business.

Our new business environment demands a communications technology that facilitates, unifies, and manages  real and near-real-time interactions between humans, networks, and devices with a common feel and experience. Unified communications technology can meet this demand. To fulfill this need, a multitude of companies have jumped into the marketplace to provide products and services to serve the requirements. Traditional telecommunication providers, software/hardware companies, messaging and conferencing vendors, desktop software companies, technology start-ups, mobile phone and telecom service providers, and manufactures alike have jumped in individually and in partnerships to tap into this growing demand for new unified offerings. The result is a new industry, with what most agree is a very optimistic outlook for rapid growth in the next decade. Based on our experience in tracking industry activity and calculating market share information, Synergy Research Group through SIA, our new, patent-pending, web-based research tool, will now offer unified communications tracking information and data.

 Because of the complexity and transition taking place in the UC market, we plan to dissect the demand for UC into three major categories: UC Core, UC Applications, and UC Devices. UC analysis data will be gradually phased in.

 As its name implies, UC Core will include the market for core components, such as presence servers, call controllers, and session managers.

 UC Applications will feature applications: mobility, video, messaging, conferencing, etc.

 UC Devices will measure activity for UC-related devices, such as mobile phones, SIP phones, conferencing bridges.

We’re excited about this new venture and are currently meeting and talking with market participants regarding the look and feel of this new product. For more information or to discuss UC, call Ken Landoline, Synergy Group’s VP of Research for the new offering. Ken can be reached at Synergy at (775) 852-3330 extension 109.